The Data Pane

The second pane of the main tab pane is the Data pane. It contains two grid objects representing two list variables of instance scope. The main grid holds the data that will be displayed using the graph object on the Graph pane. The string grid on the right allows the user to enter text for the headings displayed on the graph object. These also appear as column headings on the first data grid on this pane for all the "Group" columns, so the number of lines on this grid is maintained as the number of columns in the first (with the "Series" line set as a heading). There are also buttons on this pane for adding and removing columns for the first grid and for removing the current line (or the first line if not line is set as current). The first grid is extendable, so it is not necessary to have a button to add lines to it.

There is also a button that creates a new definition for the Data List and populates it with sample data appropriate for the graph type selected on the Graph pane. This can be used to learn the data needs of the various graph types.

The most recent addition to this pane is a pushbutton that swaps the Series and Group data. This important facility can be performed directly using the original Graph component, and our GraphLab product, using the $swapseriesandgroups property of that component without changing the source data list. But the $swapxy property of Graph2 only turns the graph on its side, so we had to build a special list transposition function. This technique is non-destructive in that a second application of it returns the data list to its original form and content.